The Origin of growth

She was the financial controller for the Houston-based communications firm two and a half years ago when Enron Corp. came calling.

"I had a warped sense of priorities, and I guess Enron did, too," she laughs. "I left Origin Design to join what I thought was the best and hottest company in town."

As Enron melted down, Brown, as she phrases it, was "completely dumped by the company," from her financial job.

Brown was one of the fortunate "dumpees." She walked away from the shimmering steel towers with multiple employment offers.

The short-lived Enron experience gave Brown a new perspective.

"Origin Design wasn't the biggest company, or even the most lucrative offer monetarily," says Brown. "But it has the kind of integrity, work environment and steady growth that I've learned is more important."

Jim Mousner started Origin Design in the summer of 1997. He was his only employee, and his office was also his apartment.

This year, Origin Design ranked No. 15 on the "Houston 100" list of fastest-growing companies, with nearly $2 million in design billings for fiscal year 2001.

Founder and Creative Director Mousner attributes the rapid growth to "hard work, sacrifice and the right people — did I mention hard work?"

Going from a one-man show to a 14-member firm is no mean feat, according to statistics complied by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, a national design industry organization.

"One-person design firms are the most common," says Stephen Hinton, the institute's administrator in New York. "It takes a tremendous amount of lift to go from one person to 10 or 20. And then it takes a diversified client base, perseverance and a lot of hard work to stay there."

Ad hoc advice

When he launched Origin Design, Mousner made a key decision to develop an ad hoc advisory board to help his business grow.

"They have become my executive council — a sort of unofficial board of directors," says Mousner.

They counseled him to pay off the credit cards he'd used to finance technology purchases, and to rigorously manage overhead. He took their advice, erasing debt as well as paying business expenses before his own salary.

Understanding the dynamics of creative, idea-centric business models was another influence on growth.

"We don't produce commodities," says Mousner. "We generate ideas. This is a crucial learning about the design industry. A commodity-based business can produce widgets that match other widgets, etc. In the design world, ideas cannot be mass-produced."

Mousner also learned early on to invest in talent and technology.

"I was able to hire a couple of talented young designers who invested in the future of Origin, just as Origin invested in them," Mousner explains. "Plus, in the design world, technology is mission-critical. We can be the most talented group of artists and thinkers in the world, but if we don't have the technology to deliver solutions to business clients, we're dead in the water."

In the second year, an "angel investor" came on board.

"Basically," says Mousner, "it was someone who decided I was worth trusting, worth believing in. This investor arranged for a line of credit that allowed me to make crucial technology and personnel investments."

Origin Design began to grow, exploring new communications formats as well as new industry segments. Successes were celebrated, stumbling blocks were overcome and a yearly staff trip was instituted as part of the employee culture.

One night, while brainstorming with staff members, Mousner says he suddenly realized that "we had hit the ceiling for where we were as a company."

So he started to focus on larger goals.

An earlier partnership taught him what he wanted — and didn't want — in his own business. But he understood that raising the bar at this point would require a change in perspective.

So he brought aboard Jimmie Ruggerio, a sales executive with over 25 years in the communications industry, as a partner and director of new business development.

Ruggerio lists several reasons for joining Origin Design.

"This is a hot young firm of talented people who are constantly growing and expanding," he says. "One of the main things that sold me on Origin Design was the investment in technology that Jim and his people were making. I'm old enough to have seen several industries go out of business because they couldn't adapt to technological advances."

In addition to an outgoing personality and extensive expertise, Ruggerio also had a portfolio Mousner admired.

"Jimmie had a wealth of experience doing annual reports with energy firms, oil and gas firms and law firms." Mousner says. "He brought a terrific portfolio of satisfied clients to our firm."

One of the clients Ruggerio brought to Origin Design is Enterprise Products Partners LP.

Randy Fowler, vice president of investor relations and treasurer of the mid-stream energy services firm, had worked with Ruggerio for many years.

"Jimmie is a great guy to work with," says Fowler. "Jimmie provides access to a creative staff that helps us communicate our message to customers, potential investors and colleagues. And Jimmie has value in mind. He'll ask: 'What are your objectives? We can accomplish them and help you stay within your budget.'"

Enterprise Products Partners produces its annual reports and Web site with Ruggerio and the team at Origin Design.

"Origin is great on the creative side, both with Web site design and annual reports," says Fowler. "They help me stretch my budget by leveraging the print production for the annual report with digital production for the Web site."

Fowler muses on the dynamics he observes between Mousner and Ruggerio.

"What I experience is a strength-on-strength partnership, where they're building on what each person excels at. They brought complementary skills and strengths to the table, greatly expanding their services to customers," Fowler says.

More to come

"Around the table are my attorney, CPA, banker, investor, human resources advisor, insurance advisor, etc. They are a vital sounding board, and they provide crucial input," Mousner says. "They see things I don't — that I can't see, really, because I'm so integrally a part of Origin."

This year, the session with the business council helped Mousner emerge with three key strategic plans — a way to provide additional training and education for employees, a way to restructure and manage a more safely balanced financial process and new ways to expand business development.

Mousner laughs when asked what comes next.

"In some ways, I don't know," he says. "I'm really happy with our people and our company. I guess I want all of us to experience more — more individual dreams fulfilled, more satisfied clients, more great projects. I'm aware that we succeed because we're a team and I want to reward the team."

Kimberly Brown says her second stint at Origin Design has made her appreciate the intangible values of pursuing a career in a favorable work environment even more.

"There is a culture of teamwork and respect here that a lot of companies don't have," says Brown. "If Enron taught me anything, it's that trust, respect and teamwork count a lot more than a dog-eat-dog environment. What I want for Origin is to see everyone succeed — employees and clients — while making sure that the most important things in life grow along with the business."